Summary: Ms X complains about the enforcement action the Council is taking against her in connection with a property she owns which it says is being used as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because Ms X has appeal rights to the Planning Inspectorate to challenge the Council’s action and this places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms X, says the Council has wrongly concluded the property she rents out to a group of tenants is being used as an HMO and that it should not be taking enforcement action against her. She also complains about the visit the Council made to the property and that it does not have proof to support its actions.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))
3. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister and considers appeals about planning enforcement notices.

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How I considered this complaint

4. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms X and gave her the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

5. Ms X owns a property which is rented out to a group of tenants who she says are related to each other.
6. The Council visited the property to make an inspection and having done so decided that the house was being used as an HMO without the required planning permission.
7. It issued Ms X with an enforcement notice for a breach of planning control which requires her to change the use of the property back to that of a family dwelling house.

Assessment

8. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 2 of this statement applies to Ms X’s complaint.
9. She has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the enforcement notice issued by the Council and as we would reasonably expect her to make use of this alternative remedy the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction and will not be investigated.
10. Ms X also complains about the behaviour of officers when they visited the property but this matter will not be investigated when the substantive issue falls outside our jurisdiction.

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Final decision

11. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because Ms X has appeal rights to the Planning Inspectorate to challenge the decision and this places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman